


Don't Be A Stranger

by lavenderhaze



Category: That '70s Show
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, S7E03 Coda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 09:36:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18407951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavenderhaze/pseuds/lavenderhaze
Summary: She loved her daddy, and not only because he’s rich like everyone thinks, but because she knew he loved her more than anything else in the world. Which is why nothing made her happier when Steven not only found his father, but actually had a good time with him. He never says as much, but she knew that never having a dad is something that still bothered him.She just wished that he’d stop being a coward and just call his dad.





	Don't Be A Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> Watching 7x03 made me want to explore why Jackie was so adamant that Hyde called his father, and this baby was born. As per Season 7 tradition, the title of the fic is after a Stones song of the same name.

CODA: 7x03

Jackie knew exactly what people thought of her father. He’s never home, he’s always too busy, he’s a crook and got himself locked up for it. She’s heard it all a hundred times over, and some part of her can admit they may be right, which is why she’s learnt to keep quiet.

A greater part of her wants to shake everyone, force them to see things her way. They hadn’t been there when she turned six and her mom was off visiting her “nice doctor friend” instead of celebrating her birthday and her daddy had looked sad but let her sit on his lap for all of breakfast and even went to work late to give her her present.

They hadn’t been there when she made the cheer squad her freshman year—youngest member of the team—and dropped all his work for a night just to go her old gymnastics pictures, telling her that he was so proud of her for working so hard to get what she wanted.

They hadn’t been there when the last thing he had done before he went to prison was to turn away from all his lawyers to hug her tight and whisper that _everything will be okay, you’ll see, I love you cupcake_ , right in her ear, and that was enough to get her to stop crying and keep her head high.

She loved her daddy, and not only because he’s rich like everyone thinks, but because she knew he loved her more than anything else in the world.

Which is why nothing made her happier when Steven not only found his father, but actually had a good time with him. He never says as much, but she knew that never having a dad is something that still bothered him.

She just wished that he’d stop being a coward and call his dad. William Barnett loved his son, or at the very least wanted to become a father for him—why else would he willingly go into the house of a poor person he had never met in Nowheresville, Wisconsin? And obviously Steven wanted a real dad; he wouldn’t have been so upset over Mr. Barnett’s initial assumption otherwise. They needed to be a father and son, which would be extremely easy if he would just get over himself and call the damn man.

Desperate times like these called for one thing: Mrs. Forman. Jackie saw the power she had over Red, and if she could make Red Forman to do things he didn’t want to, then Steven Hyde would be a piece of cake.

It hadn’t exactly gone the way she imagined, and she was big enough to admit that running back into the kitchen yelling declarations of love on Steven’s behalf was not her finest moment, but she was just so excited. Steven got a father, which meant she got a happy Steven.

“You’re welcome,” she told him later that night. They were cuddled on Steven’s bed, her head resting on top of his heart and his fingers playing with her hair.

Steven snorted. “For what?”

“I got you to call your dad,” she announced in a sing-song voice.

“Okay, you did not get me to do anything, I chose to do it myself.” Jackie rolled her eyes but stayed still; Steven can believe what he wanted to believe. “Why do you care so much anyway?”

Jackie sighed and pushed herself up so she could look him in the eyes, his hand falling from her hair to her waist.

“Steven, my dad’s in prison. I don’t get to call him for more than 15 minutes a day. Now, you probably don’t get why this is all a big deal since you’ve only had a dad for about a week, but you can _have a dad_.”

A wave of longing hit her all at once. She missed her daddy with all of her heart. She missed the way he kissed her head in the mornings before he left for work, and at night when he came home. She missed the smell of his cologne around the house. She missed the way he hummed under his breath when he drove. She missed him so much, and she knew she was lucky that she had a dad to miss.

“Hey, don’t cry.” Steven shuffled up, mild terror in his eyes. Jackie weakly swatted at him.

“I’m not crying,” she scoffed, eyes burning. “All I’m saying is, you get to do all the fun things a kid does with their dad now.”

Steven smiled, the soft one she only ever sees when they’re alone, and kissed her forehead. “Yeah, I do. Thanks, Jackie.”

Jackie leaned in for a kiss, a proper one, and pulled back just enough to say, “I love you, Steven.” He didn’t say anything, but his answering kiss told her everything she needed to know.


End file.
